Paper Roses and Gumbo
by brookemopolitan
Summary: That trip to Remy's at the end of The Third Man was totally a trial date for both Castle and Beckett. Reminiscing, flirting, and some good old fashioned fluff.


**This is the one shot that I wrote for the lovely BlindAssassin, who was chosen randomly to prompt me when I wrote my fic celebrating 50 reviews of Her Mirror and Her Opposite (that fic is FAST approaching 100 reviews, so keep your eyes peeled for another one shot :D). The prompt was to explore the dinner at Remy's that Castle and Beckett had together after both their disastrous dates in The Third Man, with the suggestion that they both viewed it as a "trial date" with each other. I hope you like my take on the prompt, chickie!**

**As usual, this fic would not have been possible without the assistance of my beautiful and amazing beta, Tadpole20. If you haven't read all her fics, you should. Right after you finish this.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Castle, I'd be trying to switch networks from ABC to HBO right now.**

* * *

It had been one of those nights. Black Pawn had a new and very wealthy investor, who was very interested in meeting his all-time favourite author, Richard Castle. He'd been powerless to resist the twin Medusa stares of Gina and Paula. Only his puppy dog eyes, a promise to be paperwork bitch for a week and an insistence from Ryan that he could handle the lead on the fairly straightforward case they were working had Kate Beckett (the real life Nikki Heat) joining them for dinner at Drago.

"Once again, so wonderful to meet you. I'm sure I'll be seeing your face around the Black Pawn offices soon," Castle farewelled the couple, trying not to let his desperation to escape the odd investor and his much younger wife (who'd been playing footsie with him all night) show.

He turned to his girlfriend with a relieved grin. "Ready to head home?" He asked, reaching out to straighten the collar of Beckett's coat.

"Not on your life," Kate answered. They walked out the restaurant's lobby and Kate stopped Castle with a hand on his hip. "I am a hardworking servant of the city. You take me out for dinner, you need to give me a proper serving size,"

Castle pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Remy's?" He questioned, wrapping her in an impromptu hug.

"Remy's," Kate confirmed. She pulled away, and held up the keys to the Ferrari with a grin.

Castle groaned. Once again, he hadn't even noticed Kate pick his pocket. "And yes, Kate, because I'm a good, kind person, you can drive my Italian sportscar."

* * *

_Castle opening the door for her was not an entirely new experience. She raised an eyebrow when he politely asked Evangeline, the teapot sized owner (both short and stout) for a table for two, preferably in a quiet corner somewhere. She pressed her lips together tightly when he pulled her chair out for her after helping her remove her coat. She couldn't control herself, she burst out laughing when Castle shook out a paper napkin and placed it on her lap. "Do I need to remind you to keep your hands to yourself?" She asked him as he took a seat opposite her, picking up another napkin and beginning to fold it._

"_Why Detective Beckett, do you really think I'm the type of guy to kiss on a first date?" He asked teasingly, tongue sticking out slightly as he concentrated on folding the napkin._

_Kate arched an eyebrow. "First date?" She echoed. _

"_Bachelorette number three sent me a rather hurtful text message that suggested that I don't have the skill to take a woman on a first date. I'd like to think this might be an opportunity to prove that I can," Castle answered. "You know. In theory. Not that we're actually on a date. But… a Rick Castle first date…" Castle handed Kate an origami rose folded from the napkin with a flourish "…comes with flowers."_

_Kate rewarded his gesture with her patented half smile._

"_I had to improvise slightly," Castle admitted sheepishly._

_Kate tucked the paper rose in her hair, eyes sparkling. "I think its sweet. Thanks, Castle."_

* * *

The little bell on the door tinkered when Kate and Castle walked through into the 1950s style Diner. It wasn't entirely unusual for the pair to come in at such a late hour for a meal, but it was out of the ordinary for them to be dressed to the nines.

"Bonjour Mes Amis," Evangeline greeted them with her typical Southern hospitality. "Mais, aren't you two dressed up for a night on the town? What brings you to my humble abode?"

"Fancy night out with his fancy writer friends. They just don't know how to feed a growing detective. You know how it is," Kate bumped her elbow into Castle's side lightly, rolling her eyes as he doubled over as if she'd attacked him with a machete.

"Don't you worry, Pumpkin, we'll sort you out. Your usual spot, Cher?" Evangeline's rolling Cajun accent floated across her words as she picked up two menus and gestured for them to follow her. Evangeline suppressed a grin of her own when she saw Castle place a paper napkin on Kate's lap and push her chair in for her.

"Just your regular?" Evangeline asked. Lord knows why she bothered with menus, the pair was in often enough to have them memorised.

"Yes, thank you, Evangeline," Castle replied, managing to tear his eyes from Kate's for a moment.

Evangeline suppressed a smirk as she gave their regular order to the cook. Something was different about them today, and she had a tidy sum of money in the 12th's betting pot that she wanted to win.

* * *

_Kate surveyed the menu with discerning eyes. She was __**starving**__, but everything on the menu looked so good that she didn't know what to pick. _

"_You need another minute, Cher? Don't forget to check out the specials board. My Mamere's famous spicy shrimp gumbo is up there, and not one customer has been game enough to try it." Evangeline informed them with a slight chuckle. _

"_That sounds like a challenge I'm willing to take." Castle answered._

"_It's gon' put the hair on your chest, sure as shootin'. What about you, darlin'?" _

_Kate looked up from the menu. "I think…. The beef and bacon burger please." She said decisively. "But can I have the sweet potato fries and a serve of Ranch on the side?" _

"_Anything to drink?" _

"_A strawberry shake, please," Kate looked at her partner. He was off in his own little world. She kicked him lightly under the table. "Castle," she whispered._

"_What? Oh, sorry. A root beer float." He answered. Evangeline scrawled down his order, and headed over to the kitchen. They had to be the most interesting customers Remy's had seen in a long time; the debonair man in the suit, and the woman she was sure worked at the police station, her hair and makeup indicating she'd been on a date, but her dress suggesting she'd been working._

* * *

"Do you remember the first time we actually came in and ate in here, instead of just grabbing take out?" Castle asked Kate.

Kate toyed with the straw on her milkshake. "How could I forget?" She pondered. "That was the night of my first date with Mr. July," she added teasingly.

"Oh, how you wound me," Castle clutched at his chest, eliciting a small chuckle from Kate.

"I should have known," Kate murmured.

"Known what?"

"After that first night here, I should have known," Kate shot Castle a shy smile. "I should have known you were it." The sincerity of her words was touching, and she broke eye contact with Castle to look down at her hands, a blush staining her cheeks.

He reached to hold her hand across the table. "You make the songs make sense," his tone was soft, hand gently caressing her knuckles.

"Always," she crooned.

* * *

"_If you ruled the world, what is one thing you would change?" Kate asked. She smirked when she saw Castle's face. "Oh come on, Castle. You were the one who decided this would be a pseudo first date. Answer the awkward first date question." She drawled. _

_Castle poked at the ice cream in his root beer float. "Misuse of grammar would be punishable by law," he decided. "What about you? What would you change if you could rule the world?" He echoed_

_Kate pondered the question. Several answers floated through her mind, before she came across one that seemed right. "I'd make chocolate its own food group," she declared._

* * *

Kate gave Evangeline a smile when she brought over their plates of food.

"Bon appetite. Holler if you need anything," Evangeline reminded them, bustling away to clear plates from another table.

Kate couldn't help but roll her eyes when she saw Castle steeling himself up for the first spicy bite of gumbo. "I don't know why you always order it if you have to force yourself to eat it," she commented drily, dragging a sweet potato fry though her Ranch dressing.

"Because only the first bite is bad. After that, this is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. And I'm convinced one day I'll actually breathe fire after I eat it," Castle replied, digging his spoon in and taking a bite. Kate suppressed a giggle, fishing the pickle off her burger to eat first.

* * *

"_If you had a time machine and could be transported to any period in time, which period would you choose?" Castle asked. _

_Kate swallowed the mouthful of the best burger she'd ever tasted in her life. "The 1940s, without a doubt. I'd love to dress up like a film noir femme fatale every day of my life without anybody saying a damn word about it," She flushed slightly at revealing such a girlish fantasy. "If you could force any musician to stop playing music, who would it be?" Kate quickly managed to change the subject, praying he wouldn't make a bigger deal out of her statement than needed._

"_Oh, God. Nickelback, with a bullet," Castle answered through a mouthful of gumbo. _

"_Gross, Castle. Chew, then swallow please," Kate requested primly, taking a sip of her strawberry milkshake._

* * *

Kate pushed her plate away with a satisfied groan. "That is what a meal should be like," she declared. From the depth of her bag, she heard her phone ring. She looked at the caller ID with a groan. "Please don't be a body," she muttered to herself. "Ryan. Hey, what's up?" She listened for a few minutes. "Ryan, you're breaking up… just give me a sec," she gestured to Castle that she was going to run out the front of the diner. He nodded.

Evangeline came over to collect their plates. "Trouble in paradise, Cher?" She asked.

Rick shook his head. "There's three in this relationship. Me, Kate, and that precinct. It's all good," he reassured her with a grin. He gestured for Evangeline to move closer. "Do you think you could grab me one of those big napkins?" He asked her. He quickly slipped her his credit card so he could fix the bill while Kate was distracted.

* * *

_Kate didn't think she'd ever enjoyed herself so much on a first date. Castle was the consummate gentleman, not even attempting to get handsy, and the conversation never once dwindled. She allowed him to help her into her coat after he fixed the check (he'd actually looked offended when she suggested they go Dutch- apparently it was a feature of Castle's personal moral code to pay on a first date, and it had been since he was seventeen years old). She took his arm as they walked out of the diner. _

"_So, ah, I had a really great time tonight," Kate informed Castle, just a hint of sarcasm intermingled with her words. She fluttered her eyelashes at him and bit her lip, the personification of the end of a first date cliché. She raised her hand and signalled for a cab._

"_I had a great time too," Castle replied gruffly, playing along. "I just have one more question," He paused dramatically, waiting until he had Kate's full attention. "How do you like your eggs in the morning?" He asked her with a roguish grin, fully prepared to duck out of the way when she grabbed for his ear._

_The coquettish way she fluttered her eyelashes didn't stop. In fact, it may well have intensified. "With a kiss," a hint of a smile twisted on her lips, and she ducked into the waiting cab before Castle's brain could catch up to respond._

* * *

Kate smiled when she saw the paper rose sitting on the table in front of her seat.

"You know, I actually kept that rose you made me on our first date here," Kate confessed as she sat back down. "It sat on my bedside table," she recalled, a nostalgic smile playing on her lips. "It was one of the things I was most upset about losing when the bomb went off."

"I had no idea it meant that much to you," Castle breathed.

"You were the first guy to get me flowers, first date or otherwise," Kate admitted wryly, gently picking up the rose.

Castle was about to comment on how utterly ridiculous it was that no man had bought her flowers before he'd made her that origami rose (and he was secretly formulating a plan to fill her apartment with flowers) when he saw Kate's face change. He knew she'd found it.

"Is this what I think this is?" She asked, her eyes instantly becoming glassy. She opened her palm to reveal the white gold and diamond ring that had been sitting in the centre of the rose.

"I've been carrying it around for weeks," Castle admitted. "Waiting for the perfect moment." The tears that had been swimming at the corner of Kate's eyes began to spill onto her cheeks.

"You have inspired me from the moment I met you. You've challenged me, and you have forced me to become a better man. A man that is worthy of you," Castle slid to one knee; Kate's tears flowing thick and fast.

"You are the song that makes sense, my North Star, my Always. Katherine Eloise Beckett, will you marry me?"

Kate flung herself off the seat, throwing herself at Castle in a bruising embrace and fusing her mouth to his. Only Castle's reflexes stopped them from toppling over.

Castle drew his thumb across Kate's cheek, gently wiping away tears. "You know, after a guy gets down on one knee, his girl normally gives him an answer," He hinted gently.

"It's not even a question. Yes. Yes, Yes, YES!" She answered, her giggles echoing through Remy's. "Oui," she whispered, pressing a kiss to his cheek, "Si," she pressed a kiss to his other cheek, "Da," her lips feathered across the lips of his nose. He couldn't stand it any longer. He stood up, pulling her along with him before pressing his lips to hers.

Kate pulled away, an irresistible smile on her face. "Do I have to put this on myself?" She questioned, holding up the ring that had been clenched in her hand.

"Allow me," Castle gently slid the ring onto Kate's finger. She twisted her fingers with his and admired the piece of jewellery.

"This doesn't look like a Tiffany's ring," she commented.

He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Wise woman," he remarked. He should have known better than to think her detective's curious mind wouldn't be engrossed by his ring choice. "It isn't. The ring was first created circa 1942," he informed her. "I remembered what you said about dressing like a femme fatale," He murmured in her ear.

She studied the artistic filigree of the ring for a moment. She turned to Castle, her hands sliding to the small of his back. "We need to leave," She breathed urgently in his ear. "There are things that I want to do to you that just wouldn't be appropriate to do in our favourite diner," her hand started wandering as she spoke desperately to him.

"I just have one question for you, Castle," Kate drawled as Castle picked up their coats, her fingers playing lightly against the paper petals of her rose. He looked up at her expectantly. "Do you prefer strawberries or blueberries?" She asked. Castle's eyes widened.

"I need to know what kind of pancakes to make you in the morning," she punctuated the statement with a wink, before grabbing Castle's hand and forcibly dragging him from the diner.

Evangeline's eyes sparkled as she watched Castle pull Kate into a passionate kiss outside the diner. She'd always had a feeling those two would end up together (call it a waitress's intuition), and now she had a tidy bundle to pick up, courtesy of the 12th Precinct's when-will-Caskett-end-up-engaged betting pool.

* * *

**I apologise in advance for any trips to the dentist required after reading this for the ridiculous amounts of fluff. **

**Please let me know what you thought by hitting that little purply-blue button and sending me a review. Stay tuned for the next chapter of Her Mirror and Her Opposite :D**


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